1/2 Old-fashioned curbs, in Lieshout, where the ‘edge bumps’ championship was organized on Sunday afternoon
Old-fashioned curbs, who still does it? Well, dozens of people in Lieshout: where the championship ‘edge bumps’ was organized on Sunday afternoon on the Heuvel. Berry Huygens would have been happy with ten participating teams, there were 48. “It got a bit out of hand,” he says.
A case of beer and a few hours of ‘cutting the edge’, that was the original idea of the organization. It became a full-day program with a total of 192 participants divided over 48 teams. “And we received another twenty registrations in the last week, but it was enough,” says Berry with a laugh.
“A piece of childhood sentiment!”
Seven fields have been set out on the Heuvel in Lieshout. Fourteen teams can play here each round. Young and old participate, but the large number of adults is striking. “This is a piece of childhood sentiment. As children we used to play this in the street, before the TV and later the game boy came along,” says a participant.
The game is simple. The aim is to throw the ball exactly on the curb. That’s a point. If you manage to catch the ball coming back from the curb yourself, you get two points. “The secret is balance, good aim and in our case also a little alcohol,” says one of the ladies of the Berry’s Butsers team.
“We used to do this until our mom came to get us”
“We are all over 50 and have done this as a child. This is really fun and you have to see how many people participate,” says another participant from Berry’s Butsers. Organizer Berry also has confidence in his own skills. “I am champion of the Hertog Janstraat”, he says with a smile. “My brother and I used to do this down the street until our mom came to get us.”
Yet many new housing estates are now being completed without curbs. So the old-fashioned curbs are no longer there. Even if kids would like it. “So hop municipalities,” says Berry. “Just use curbs again so that you can bump. Anyone can do it, it’s free and healthy.”
“There are complaints that one edge is higher than the other.”
There is fanatical play on Sunday afternoon. The ball regularly ends up meters above or behind the curbs. Nevertheless, attention is also paid to the details, Berry notes. “Sometimes people complain that one curb is higher than the other,” he says. “Logical, because the sidewalk is never the same everywhere.”
The prize on Sunday is just as fun as the championship itself. The winner goes home with a gold painted curb.